Ludington Again!

We left Charlevoix on Thursday thinking we would go to South Manitou . Well the wind was good we went the extra 30 or so miles and came to Ludington. And how lucky we were.
We woke this morning to winds of 20/25, gusting to 35. And wave action to go right along with it. More of the same is forecasted for tomorrow. Soooo here we are, waiting out the weather.
Headed out for some eats in a bit.
Love and blessings,
Margo and Skip

On Our Way!

Had a long day today! Left Charlevoix at 7AM and pulled into Frankfort at 5:45PM. Goodness! Good wind but 5/6 foot swells. My tummy was not very happy. But we pressed on and made it to Frankfort. We got settled in and headed to Dinghy's for dinner. A great little pub kind of place.
Headed to either Manistee or Ludington. Getting closer to Muskeg on and home!
Love and blessings,
Margo and Skip

In Charleviox

We had a wonderful visit with Chris, Kelly and the kids. We got to sail some, swim some and tour this beautiful region.
We moved the boat to Charlevoix yesterday. Had the oil changed and had a restful night. It was a bit dicey coming into the slip yesterday! Big gust of wind pushed us the wrong direction. Near collision with the boat next to us.
We decided to stay here another day. To much wind and wave on the big lake! Hopefully we'll leave tomorrow.
Love and blessings everyone,
Margo and Skip

Trying to Post

For anyone who cares, I wrote a post that is taking a long time to post.
So sorry,
M

You Know You're in Trouble When...

Friday morning we woke up to whitecaps in the harbor at Meldrum Bay. The wind was from the East at 10/12 knots! We knew we had to leave so at 6:30 a.m. we left the dock and headed out. Rock and roll! Goodness it was aweful until we turned West and the wind was behind us. We weren't able to use the main but we did hoist the jib and motor sailed for the next 12 hours! Yes, 12 hours... rocking and rolling all the way to Mackinaw Island.
We arrived, tied up and went to the video phone to check in with customs. An interesting process for sure. Then we headed to the Pink Pony! It was time for a beverage and time to get off the boat and walk a little.
On Saturday morning, we left Mackinaw Island and went to St. Ignace for fuel and a grocery run. Two hours later we were headed toward Charlevoix. There were two very large power boats at St. Ignace getting fuel before us. I can't imagine paying $2,400.00 for gas but they did... and more. Our diesel was only $44.00! We felt blessed for sure.
So on to Charlevoix. We knew we were cutting it close because we didn't leave St. Ignace until 12:30 and it was a pretty good haul. We estimated our time of arrival to be 9 p.m. And we made it but we missed the 9 o'clock bridge and had to wait until 9:30 to come into Round Lake.
This weekend was the Venetian Festival. Oh my goodness, there were so many boats in Round Lake! Carnival rides, beer gardens, live music! You name it and it was there. I'm attaching a picture of boat that were decorated for the boat parade.
After we left Round Lake and headed toward Oyster Bay, the fireworks began. High in the sky and lots of color and noise.
By the time we got anchored it was 10:30! Another long day. But we're here and made it safely.
Chris, Kelly and the kids arrive this week. And our Xavier had his birthday party on Saturday. Happy Birthday big guy!
Love and Blessings Everyone,
Margo and Skip

Interesting Few Days...

Well we left Little Current on Tuesday afternoon but not before Skip repaired the hot water heater! I noticed the night before that we had no hot water on the boat so Tuesday morning, Skip took the  cover off the water heater and found where there had been an arc and burned one of the wires. So he made the repair and once again we had hot water. Yippee!
So we left Little Current and headed for Clapperton Island where we anchored in lovely Logan Bay. It was a windy night but we had a good hold and did just fine. The  next morning (Wednesday) when we left it looked like the day would be pretty decent. We hoisted the sails pretty quickly once out of the Bay and soon the wind was between 10 and 12 knots. And blowing in the correct direction for us to be able to take advantage of the wind. Well... that lasted maybe two hours and then the skies got overcast; the wind kicked up to 17/18 knots; and it began to rain. Thankfully it was not a hard rain but rain non the less.
Skip riffed the main and pulled the jib in a bit. We were managing very nicely. Except for one thing... the seas were 3/5 ft. and rolley! I hate that! No fun at all.
We took in the sails and motored the rest of the way to Turnbull Island. We were there about 10 days or so ago. This time, our anchorage was a bit different. We were the only boat in the cove so  we had our pick of where to anchor. We dropped anchor and waited and watched to make sure we had a good hold. We were both below and heard a very unfamiliar noise. We had drifted into a shallow area and hit rocks on the lake bottom.
Up came the anchor and we moved. This time we put both anchors out and Skip checked our position every two hours all night.
This morning, Thursday, when we left we headed to Meldrum Bay on Manitoulin Island. This was our first stop once we got into the North Channel a couple of weeks ago. The wind was great for sailing... at our back between 10-15. Excellent! We were sailing along quite nicely but we were right on the edge of which way the mainsail could/would go. About 3 times it flopped from one side to the other and then... it flopped again and I saw lines hanging where they should not have been. Upon further inspection, we realized that the line that holds the mainsail boom had snapped. The boom was laying on top of the cockpit dodger.
We turned into the wind and lowered the sail. That was scary 'cause the wind in our face was at 17 knots. Skip slipped once and all I could see was him flipping over the side! But he caught himself and was able to finish with the  sails and jerry-rig the boom and hoist it off of the dodger.
So here we are in Meldrum Bay for the night and tomorrow we're off to South Lake Huron. Tonight we'll have dinner once again at the Meldrum Bay Inn. Skip already knows he'll have the delicious Bumbleberry Pie!
Take care everyone and know that we miss everyone a bunch.
Love and Blessings,
Margo and Skip

Back to Little Current

On Sunday we left Killarney and began our journey West. We had a beautiful wind and we were able to sail to Heywood Island where we dropped anchor in Browning Cove. Only this time we went back to a cove through a small channel. It was a lovely anchorage and we were soon joined by two other sailboats.
As it has been a couple weeks since the ole' washer woman did any laundry, I got busy with my bucket of lake water, a little Tide and a scrub brush! And alas, we have some clean shorts and shirts to wear. I can't imagine doing that all the time! Goodness are we slaves to our "stuff"!
We left Heywood after breakfast and headed toward Little Current. This time we stayed at the Government Docks right downtown. A real flurry of activity there was on Monday. Just a real busy place. There were a couple of boat races over the weekend and several boats were there due to that. Also the GLCC Wilderness Rally is approaching and there were several boats headed for that.
We met our dock mates - Lee and Jim. Nice folks who are headed East from here.
It's Tuesday and we're trying to decide whether to leave today or stay for another night. The wind looks to be pretty good out of the West/Northwest today but between 15 and 20 knots. Still waiting for the Captain to make the call.
Happy Birthday tomorrow to David and Wendy! Not sure I'll have phone service to sing that birthday song, but please know that I'm thinking of both of you and feeling so proud. Now just how old are you two!!!  ;-) Love you both.
Sure do miss everyone.
Love and blessings,
Margo and Skip